The returns, in hundreds of IOM-chartered buses, were funded by the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) and Australia (AusAID), and at one point reached 4,000 people in a single day, an IOM press release said yesterday.

Destinations included Jaffna, Mannar, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara and more recently, Mullativu and Kilinochchi districts with Tunukai in Mullativu and Poornaky in Kilinochchi have now been identified as safe return areas.

"IOM strongly supports the government's decision to empty the Menik Farms camp and return the IDPs to their home communities by the end of January 2010. We are also planning to work with our partners in the government and the international community to help the IDPs to rebuild their lives after they return home," said IOM Sri Lanka Chief of Mission Mohammed AbdiKer.

The IOM return operation of the past month brings the number of IDPs to leave Menik Farm, which in July housed about a quarter of a million people, to over 100,000.

"An important aspect of the government's resettlement plan is to ensure that local authorities are ready to receive the IDPs, to provide protection to vulnerable people and to ensure their access to services," says IOM Sri Lanka Emergency Operations Manager Giovanni Cassani.

Meanwhile, IOM, with USD 1.3 million of funding from Australia, has provided the government's humanitarian de-mining unit with 220 mine detectors, helmets and other safety equipment. Part of the money is also helping the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) to hire more de-mining teams.

IOM is also helping returnees through the provision of shelter kits, transitional shelters and water purification systems, as well as clearing wells, and installing drainage and sanitation facilities. It is also setting up temporary health care facilities and strengthening the capacity of local government to cope with the additional needs of the returnees. Post-return, these will include early recovery initiatives and the need for new livelihoods.

In addition to the UK and Australia, the Netherlands and Sweden are also funding various IOM Sri Lanka IDP resettlement projects.

In parallel with the IDP return operation, IOM will continue to address the ongoing humanitarian needs of displaced families still in Menik Farm. This support will include the provision of emergency health care, temporary shelter, water and sanitation, camp care and maintenance, distribution of non-food relief items, transport, logistics and IDP registration.